Teacher Says He Was Late 111 Times Because He Was Eating Breakfast

A New Jersey elementary school teacher who will keep his job after he was late to school 111 times says eating breakfast caused him to be late.

“I have a bad habit of eating breakfast in the morning and I lost track of time,” Arnold Anderson told the Associated Press, noting that he planned to break the habit.

Anderson was allowed to keep his $90,000 a year job after an arbiter ruled Aug. 19 that Roosevelt Elementary school could not fire Anderson without offering him progressive discipline. He had been late at least 46 times so far this year and 65 times last year. Anderson said he was at most a minute or two late each time.

The arbiter ruled that the school couldn’t fire Anderson without giving him proper notice of his failings and giving him 90 days to correct them. While not fired, Anderson is suspended without pay until Jan 1. He says that when he comes back to work, he’ll “be early.”